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KPOFIRE: Woman leaves her three children in a boat, returns to meet them all burnt

Published

3 years ago

November 27, 2021

– Another mother, her one month old baby burnt too in Port Harcourt serial fire outbreaks

For three consecutive days, destructive fire outbreaks, fueled by unsafe, indiscriminate storing and movement of illegally refined petroleum products, better known as “kpofire” wrecked havoc in parts of Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital city.

The infernos caused death, injuries and disruptions of livelihoods. Beyond that, the serial fire outbreaks also exposed failures of key stakeholders in checking the resilience of oil thieves and illicit producers of ‘kpofire’.

The serial fires started the night of Saturday 20 Novembers at No 1 Isiokpo Street, D-Line, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area (LGA), where illegally refined fuel stored in a presumed abandoned warehouse went up in flames, stretching as far as 50meters to surrounding property.

Uche Okoro, resident in the neighborhood said, “Once set off, the fire spread through the spilled fuel along the gutters, burning cars parked on the street. In the collateral damage, it burnt surrounding buildings and warehouses, including a church and razed part of the Port Harcourt center of the National Institute of Information Technology, NIIT.

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“Big tankers, power generating sets, 40ft container and goods inside the warehouses were also burnt down, with the huge loss estimated at tens of millions of naira.”

Victims were still lamenting the huge losses when residents in Rumuokoro, Obio/Akpor LGA raised alarm Sunday afternoon on another destructive fire, this time in an even bigger illicit petroleum products distribution site.

A witness narrated, “from about noon, it razed the uncompleted building where it started and narrowly missed an adjacent big branch of a commercial bank along the East-West Road. Other property behind were also affected before intervention from fire service.”

Inside the uncompleted building where it started were concealed over 20 tanks of illegally refined products. The front of the building was a warehouse for bags of rice, spaghetti and cartons of tin tomatoes among other foodstuff. All were burnt. A large underground tank filled with illegally refined products was not torched.

Fatal dimension

The third incident, the Port Harcourt serial outbreaks assumed fatal dimension at the Bonny/Bille jetties of the Nembe Waterside, Port Harcourt City LGA.

From the inferno that lasted several hours, Nnamdi Omoni, Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers Command, confirmed recovery of four bodies. A careless smoker reportedly ignited a wooden passenger/cargo boat offloading volumes of illegally refined fuel. Among the dead recovered were three children. They were siblings.

Eyewitnesses suspect the death toll is far more. A witness simply identified as Johnson narrated, “Children, and many others are fear dead. The boat was parked beside 6 others, one of them loaded passengers, another with timber, crayfish, garri, kerosene and other food items waiting to take off.

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“You know where they used to bring fuel and diesel, even the jetty water was covered with so much of the mix of highly inflammable products spilled on the water that any contact could spread wildfire. The spark from the cigarette caught the fire. All the seven boats and their contents were razed.

Another witness who saw it all happen, in his own account, said, “my greatest pain were the children killed. A mother left her three children in the boat to go buy items onshore. They were burnt before she could return to save them. One of two victims said to have been rushed to hospital was said to have died, news just filtered now.”

Madam Elijah, another observer said, “A baby of a month old and the mother, roasted because of carelessness. People were offloading product from a boat and a man was smoking. I don’t know what he did, next thing we saw was fire burst from the offloading boat. Since the place is already saturated with oil and various fuel products, the fire became uncontrollable.

“Heavy wind helped spread the fire to umbrellas and tables of traders buying and selling. Fire service personnel who came in were driven away by traders for perceived late response when much damage had been done.”

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Leader of Crayfish and fish sellers at the Nembe Bille water front, Henrietta Simeon lamented that their goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by the fire.

Govt reacts

Rivers Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Peter Meede had, on assessment of the colossal damages announced that investigations have begun to find lasting solutions.

On the immediate action, he said, “The Rivers government has dedicated two telephone lines for people to report unwholesome practices in the state. We have warned severally that when you see and you don’t report, when it happens, it is your own property that would be destroyed, it is your own life that could be lost.

With the impunity with which indulgence in oil theft and ‘kpofire’ thrive in Rivers, only a very few persons have confidence in the responses from government and the police.

Vanguard

Related Topics:boat burnt children KPOFIRE woman

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How scavenger triggered explosion of military grenade in Lagos

Published

1 hour ago

April 5, 2025

Trends Admin

How scavenger triggered explosion of military grenade in Lagos

The bomb explosion on Taiwo Street, Idi-Araba, in the Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State was triggered by a scavenger.

The explosion claimed the life of the scavenger and left three others severely injured.

Findings by Chronicle NG revealed that the scavenger was attempting to dismantle military-grade grenades with the intention of collecting them as part of the scrap metal he was searching for.

The yet-to-be-identified scavenger was handling one of the grenades when it detonated, killing him instantly.

Three other victims, whose names and addresses are also unknown, sustained varying degrees of injury and were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

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SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the incident.

He said, “At 13:30 hours on April 3, 2025, a distress call was received by the EOD unit based in Ikeja that there was a bomb explosion on Taiwo Street, Idi-Araba. Our team of EOD-CBRN operatives was swiftly mobilised to the scene.

“On arrival, the team ensured the area was safe, and after a thorough inspection, it was discovered that the explosion was caused by military-grade grenades that had been tampered with by a scavenger who was trying to split one of them. Sadly, the scavenger lost his life at the scene, while three others were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.”

Hundeyin also confirmed that the scene was secured and photographed and crucial evidence was collected for analysis.

“The deceased’s body has been moved to a public mortuary for autopsy, and an investigation has been initiated. Further developments will be communicated,” he added.

How scavenger triggered explosion of military grenade in Lagos

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Pro-Wike rally organisers insist on holding event despite court order

Published

1 hour ago

April 5, 2025

Trends Admin

Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike

Pro-Wike rally organisers insist on holding event despite court order

A planned rally in support of President Bola Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, scheduled for April 12 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, is expected to proceed as planned despite a court order purportedly halting the gathering.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, George Turnah, factional South-South Zonal Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the court ruling has been misinterpreted and does not stop their event.

According to Turnah, the gathering is being hosted by a group called New Associates and is meant to launch the Bayelsa State chapter of the group. He clarified it is also an opportunity to thank President Tinubu for appointing several Bayelsa natives into key government roles.

He stated: “Our rally, as we have said and made public, is for the purpose of inaugurating a group called and known as the New Associates, Bayelsa State Chapter, and then to thank and appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing notable sons and daughters of Bayelsa State into positions of trust in the country. That is the purpose. It is not the purpose that this court’s order captures.”

Turnah argued that the court order did not mention banning rallies for the reasons they intend, saying: “We are going ahead. We are going ahead.”

“It’s just like saying ‘Don’t hold press conference in Cubana Hotel for the purpose of listening to George Turner.’ It doesn’t stop practitioners from holding press conference in Cubana for the purpose of listening to Jeremiah,” he explained.

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He emphasized that no plans had been made to invite Minister Wike to the rally.

“There was no time that we as a group, gave out a notice that we are going to host Minister Wike,” he said. “Wike, as of today, is not in our plans or programme to be in Bayelsa. We have not even extended invitations to Wike to come.”

However, he acknowledged Wike’s indirect role in helping Bayelsa citizens by recommending them for key positions. “While thanking Mr. President, we will also say thank you, Wike, for recommending and trusting that this class of persons can contribute to helping Mr. President deliver on his mandate,” Turnah added.

He dismissed claims that Wike’s rumoured visit was part of the rally, saying such talk is political. He also criticised the introduction of ethnic sentiments into the situation, warning it could harm national unity.

Turnah said they did not owe any explanations to Governor Douye Diri: “We don’t owe the governor and it’s a private group. We don’t owe him, we are not inviting him, so we don’t need to inform him.”

“The level of incitement against my person by Governor Diri can be likened to, in the words of Governor Fubara, ‘when a man cocks a gun, and maybe because the gun is in safety and the bullets didn’t come out, the man has already killed you.’”

Turnah added, “Let it be known by all the people of Bayelsa State, the Ijaw Nation, and Nigeria that on the 28th of March 2025, His Excellency, Sen. Douye Diri, Governor of my State, pulled a dangerous trigger against me but, to the glory of God, I am still alive today to tell the story.”

He said he remains committed to peaceful political engagement and credited former President Goodluck Jonathan for shaping his political life.

“My gratitude to him and his entire household, particularly my mother and his dear wife, Dame Dr Patience Jonathan, is for life,” he said. “I shall continue to be guided by the virtues of loyalty, humility, kindness, affection, dedication, commitment, trustworthiness, and self-discipline instilled in me by my mentor of all times, and father, President Jonathan.”

Pro-Wike rally organisers insist on holding event despite court order

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Autopsy reveals cause of Nigerian boxer death during fight in Ghana

Published

1 hour ago

April 5, 2025

Trends Admin

Nigerian boxer, Segun ‘Success’ Olanrewaju

Autopsy reveals cause of Nigerian boxer death during fight in Ghana

An autopsy conducted on late Nigerian boxer, Olanrewaju Segun, popularly known as ‘Success’, has confirmed that the 40-year-old athlete died from sudden cardiac arrest during his bout in Ghana.

Secretary-General of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBBofC) and President of the West African Boxing Union, Remi Aboderin, disclosed the findings, which came from preliminary post-mortem results.

“The preliminary post-mortem results indicate that Segun died from sudden cardiac arrest.But further investigation into his heart condition is required, and as a result, his body will not be released to Nigeria for burial until approximately two weeks,” Aboderin said.

The autopsy was carried out on Wednesday, April 2, following a court order initiated after the boxer’s sudden death during a professional match in Accra.

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Olanrewaju collapsed mid-fight last Saturday during his match against Ghana’s Jon Mbanugu at Fight Night 15, part of the Ghana Professional Boxing League. He was ahead on points in their eight-round light-heavyweight contest when the tragedy struck.

Medical personnel at the Bukom Boxing Arena responded immediately, entering the ring to remove his gum shield and attempt resuscitation. Despite being swiftly transported to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Until his passing, Olanrewaju had carved out a significant boxing career. A former National and West African light-heavyweight champion, he turned professional in 2019, racking up 24 fights—13 wins (12 by knockout), nine losses, and two draws.